System and method for determining an impact of manufacturing processes on the caliper of a sheet material

ABSTRACT

A method for processing a plurality of sheet material includes receiving a plurality of sheets of material, transporting, via a transport mechanism, the plurality of sheets, one sheet at a time, past a first image capture device, obtaining, via a first image capture device, a first image of a first set of one or more of the plurality of sheets while being transported past the first image capture device, and determining, via at least one processor, a first caliper measurement of the first set of one or more of the plurality of sheets based on the first image of each of the first set.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY AND CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/975,390, which was filed on Apr. 4, 2014, andis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and for allpurposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to the manufacture of sheetmaterial products. In particular, aspects of the present disclosurerelate to systems, devices and processes for determining an impact ofone or more manufacturing processes on a caliper of a sheet material.

BACKGROUND

Caliper (thickness) measurement can be critical for understandingprocess impacts in the act of creating products made from sheetmaterials. For example, in the context of a box product made from acorrugated fiberboard sheet material, the caliper of the sheet materialcorrelates with board stiffness and load carrying capacity and, thus,box performance characteristics. For that reason, it is a criticalprocess parameter in the manufacture of such products. Similarly,caliper is an important process parameter that is considered in themanufacture of other products from sheet materials, such as, forexample, paper, paperboard, corrugated fiberboard, plastic, corrugatedplastic, combinations thereof, and/or the like.

Conventionally, caliper measurement is a manual process. As sheetmaterial is being processed, for example, a small number of sheets areremoved and manually measured by a caliper device or, in some instances,by destructive testing. For instance, to manufacture a corrugated boxcontainer, manual measurements are typically obtained at a corrugatoronce combined board is formed, again before that combined board isconverted into a box, and finally once the manufacture of the box hasbeen completed. This process is labor intensive and time consuming. Assuch, only a limited number of products can be inspected. Indeed, it isnot uncommon for an entire run of thousands of boxes to be characterizedby one or, at most, a handful of caliper measurements to assess theimpact of the process on the corrugated board from which the boxes aremade.

Past attempts to improve the process of measuring caliper have beenlargely unsuccessful for a number of reasons. Generally, such attemptsrequired restraint of the sheet material against a fixed and stableportion of an apparatus (e.g., to align the sheet with a measurementdevice and/or provide a reference point from which to measure). Yet, theprocess of restraining the sheet materials introduces substantialinefficiencies (i.e., significantly slowed processing speeds) and risksadditional damage to the sheet material from the restraining contact.Other attempts to measure caliper of sheets in motion were generallyfrustrated by the frequent and erratic movement of the sheets along thetransport path due to, for example, vibrations, mechanical processingimpacts, aerodynamics, etc.

SUMMARY

According to aspects of the present disclosure, systems are presentedfor processing sheet materials. In an implementation, the systemincludes an input configured to receive one or more sheets of material,an output, and a transport mechanism configured to transport the one ormore sheets, one sheet at a time, from the input along a transport pathto the output. The system also includes a manufacturing process devicethat is disposed along the transport path and is configured to changeeach of the one or more sheets from a first state to a second state. Thesystem further includes a first image capture device. The image capturedevice can be located, for example, along the transport path, e.g.,proximate the input, the manufacturing process device, the output, orany combination thereof. The first image capture device is configured toobtain one or more first images. Each of the first images is of at leastone of the one or more sheets. The system also includes at least oneprocessor that is communicatively coupled to the first image capturedevice. The at least one processor is configured to determineprocess-impact information based on one or more first images, includingat least a caliper measurement of each of the at least one of the one ormore sheets.

According to additional aspects of the present disclosure, systems forprocessing a plurality of sheets of material are disclosed. In animplementation, the system includes an input area or receptacle that isconfigured to receive a plurality of sheets of material, and an outputarea or receptacle that is configured to receive one or more sheets ofmaterial. A transport mechanism is configured to transport the sheets,e.g., one sheet at a time, from the input area/receptacle along atransport path to the output area/receptacle. The system also includesone or more manufacturing process devices disposed along the transportpath. Each manufacturing process device is configured to apply amanufacturing process to at least one of the sheets. The system furtherincludes a first image capture device located at or between the inputarea/receptacle and one of the manufacturing process devices. The firstimage capture device is configured to obtain a first image of a firstset of the plurality of sheets. The system further includes a secondimage capture device located at or between one of the manufacturingprocess devices and the output area/receptacle. The second image capturedevice is configured to obtain a second image of a second set of theplurality of sheets. At least one processor is communicatively coupledto the first image capture device and the second image capture device.The at least one processor is configured to determine a first calipermeasurement for each of the sheets in the first set of the sheets basedon the first images, and determine a second caliper measurement for eachof the sheets in the second set of sheets based on the second images.

According to additional aspects of the present disclosure, methods forprocessing sheet material are disclosed. A method for processing aplurality of sheet material includes, for example, receiving a pluralityof sheets of material; transporting, via a transport mechanism, thesheets of material, one sheet at a time, past a first image capturedevice; obtaining, via a first image capture device, a first image of afirst set of one or more of the sheets while being transported past thefirst image capture device; and, determining, via at least oneprocessor, a first caliper measurement of the first set of one or moresheets based on the first image of each sheet of the first set.

The above summary is not intended to represent every embodiment or everyaspect of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing summary merelyprovides an exemplification of some of the novel aspects and featuresset forth herein. The above features and advantages, and other featuresand advantages of the present disclosure, which are considered to beinventive singly or in any of various combinations, will be readilyapparent from the following detailed description of representativeembodiments and modes for carrying out the present invention when takenin connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of an example of a sheetprocessing system according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are plan-view and side-view illustrations, respectively,of an exemplary section of the sheet processing system illustrated inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a representative workflow process fordetermining an impact of a manufacturing process according to aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of another example of a sheetprocessing system according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of yet another example of a sheetprocessing system according to aspects of the present disclosure.

While the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, some representative embodiments thereof have beenshown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described indetail. It should be understood, however, that the inventive aspects arenot limited to the particular forms illustrated in the drawings. Rather,the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, combinations,and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

This disclosure is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms.There are shown in the drawings, and will herein be described in detail,representative embodiments with the understanding that the presentdisclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principlesof the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the broad aspectsof the disclosure to the embodiments illustrated. To that extent,elements and limitations that are disclosed, for example, in theAbstract, Summary, and Detailed Description sections, but not explicitlyset forth in the claims, should not be incorporated into the claims,singly or collectively, by implication, inference or otherwise. Forpurposes of the present detailed description, unless specificallydisclaimed or logically prohibited: the singular includes the plural andvice versa; and the words “including” or “comprising” or “having” means“including without limitation.” Moreover, words of approximation, suchas “about,” “almost,” “substantially,” “approximately,” and the like,can be used herein in the sense of “at, near, or nearly at,” or “within3-5% of,” or “within acceptable manufacturing tolerances,” or anylogical combination thereof, for example.

In the following description of the exemplary systems and methods, thesheet material is described as corrugated fiberboard; however, it shouldbe understood that the sheet material can alternatively be othermaterials such as, for example, paper, paperboard, plastic, corrugatedplastic, combinations thereof, and/or the like. The systems and methodsof the present disclosure address problems that have long been without aviable solution. Namely, the systems and methods of the presentdisclosure achieve measurement of the caliper of sheet materials whilebeing transported at high rates of speed through manufacturing processsystems. The sheet materials do not need to be removed, damaged,restrained, or contacted in any way to achieve such calipermeasurements. Advantageously, the systems and methods of the presentdisclosure allow for the collection and analysis of large sample sizes,providing a more robust and comprehensive understanding of the sheetmaterials being processed and/or the impact of various manufacturingprocesses on the sheet materials. Indeed, in some instances, the systemsand methods of the present disclosure can provide real-time or nearreal-time monitoring of the caliper of portions or all of the sheetmaterials being processed.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of a system 100 forprocessing sheet materials according to aspects of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 includes an inputreceptacle 112, a transport mechanism 114, a first image capture device116, a manufacturing process device 118, a second image capture device120, and an output receptacle 122. The system 100 can further include acontroller 124, a memory 126, a user input device 128, and a user outputdevice 130.

The input receptacle 112 is configured to receive a plurality of sheetsof corrugated board (i.e., corrugated fiberboard). As one non-limitingexample, the plurality of sheets of corrugated board can be received inthe input receptacle 112 as a stack. The transport mechanism 114 isconfigured to transport the sheets of corrugated board, one sheet at atime, from the input receptacle 112 to the output receptacle 122 via thefirst image capture device 116, the manufacturing process device 118,and the second image capture device 120. That is, the first imagecapture device 116, the manufacturing process device 118, and the secondimage capture device 120 are disposed along a transport path between theinput receptacle 112 and the output receptacle 122. As one non-limitingexample, the transport mechanism 114 can include one or more conveyorbelts, rollers, etc. The output receptacle 122 is configured to receivethe plurality of sheets of corrugated board once processed (e.g., as astack of sheets).

The manufacturing process device 118 includes one or more devices thatare configured to manufacture aspects of a corrugated board product(e.g., a box blank or a fully-assembled box) from the corrugated boardsheets. For example, the manufacturing process device 118 can beconfigured to cut, score, crush, print, glue, staple, tape, and/or wirestitch one or more portions of each sheet of corrugated board. In onenon-limiting implementation, the manufacturing process device 118 can beflexo folder gluer. In another non-limiting implementation, themanufacturing process device 118 can include one or more sections of aflexo folder gluer (e.g., a feed section, a printing section, acreaser-slotter section, an in-line die cutter, a glue lap unit, afolding section, etc.). Stated more generally, the manufacturing processdevice 118 can include one or more devices configured to change eachsheet from a first state to a second state.

The first image capture device 116 and the second image capture device120 are configured to obtain a first image and a second image,respectively, of one or more of the sheets of corrugated board as thesheets are transported past the first image capture device 116 and thesecond image capture device 120. More particularly, the first imagecapture device 116 and the second image capture device 120 areconfigured to obtain the first image and the second image, respectively,of a thickness of the sheet(s) (i.e., in a dimension defined by thewalls and flute(s) of the corrugated board, as should be understood by askilled artisan). For example, the first image capture device 116 andthe second image capture device 120 can be located with respect to thetransport mechanism 114 such that a lateral side of each sheet passesthrough a field of view of the first image capture device 116 and afield of view of the second image capture device 120 as it is beingtransported along the transport path.

According to some aspects, the first image capture device 116 can belocated on either side of the transport path such that, for example, thesheets are generally coplanar with the field of view of the first imagecapture device 116 and the field of view of the second image capturedevice 120. According to some aspects, the first image capture device116 and the second image capture device 120 can be respectively orientedsuch that the field of views of the first image capture device 116 andthe second image capture device 120 are generally orthogonal to thetransport path at the respective locations of the first image capturedevice 116 and the second image capture device 120. According to otheraspects, the first image capture device 116 and the second image capturedevice 120 can be oriented at non-orthogonal angles (e.g., obliqueangles) relative to the transport path.

As one non-limiting example, FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an exemplaryconfiguration of the first image capture device 116 relative to thetransport mechanism 114. FIG. 2A shows a plurality of sheets 140A-140Clocated on a portion of the transport mechanism 114 near the first imagecapture device 116. As shown in FIG. 2A, the sheet 140B is passingthrough a field of view 142 of the first image capture device 116. FIG.2B is a sectional view taken through the line 2B-2B shown in FIG. 2A. Asshown in FIG. 2B, the first image capture device 116 is located on aside of and generally coplanar to the transport mechanism 114 andoriented generally orthogonal to the transport mechanism 114 such that alateral side 144 of the sheet 140B is located within the field of view142 of the first image capture device 116. As described above, it iscontemplated that other locations and orientations can be employed(e.g., such that a leading lateral side of the sheet 140B can bepositioned within the field of view 142).

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 2B, the first image capture device 116 isconfigured such that the sheets 140A-140C can pass through the field ofview 142 despite any potential movement in the z-direction due to, forexample, vibrations, mechanical processing impacts, aerodynamics, etc.For example, the first image capture device 116 can be located at adistance from the transport mechanism 114 based on the opticalcharacteristics of the first image capture device 116 (e.g., lens size,focal length, aperture size, etc.) to allow for movement of the sheetsin the z-direction during transport past the first image capture device116.

According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the first imagesand the second images can include an image of only a single sheet (or aportion thereof) at a time. According to alternative aspects of thepresent disclosure, the first images and the second images can includean image of one or a plurality of sheets (or portions thereof) at atime.

The first image capture device 116 and the second image capture device120 are communicatively coupled to the controller 124. In particular,the first image capture device 116 and the second image capture device120 are configured to transmit image information (e.g., via wired orwireless communication signals) indicative of the first and secondimages obtained by the first image capture device 116 and the secondimage capture device 120. The controller 124 is configured to processthe image information received from the first image capture device 116and the second image capture device 120.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, the controller 124 isprogrammed to determine a caliper measurement for each sheet shown inthe first images and second images. In this way, the controller 124 cancontinuously or repeatedly monitor the caliper of the sheets ofcorrugated board as the sheets are transported through the system 100.As one non-limiting example, the controller 124 can run an imageanalysis program on the first images and second images, utilizing edgedetection algorithms, to determine a caliper measurement for each sheetshown in the first images and the second images. That is, the controller124 can be programed to detect changes in image brightness to determinethe lower edge and the upper edge of a sheet. The caliper measurementcan thus be determined from the distance between the detected upper edgeand the detected lower edge of the imaged sheet. In implementations inwhich a first image and/or a second image may include a plurality ofsheets (or portions thereof), the controller 124 can be configured toemploy additional image processing algorithms to further distinguish onesheet from another when multiple sheets are captured within a firstimage or a second image.

It is contemplated that, according to some aspects, the controller 124can be configured to run a calibration program to facilitate translationof the distance between the lower edge and the upper edge of each imageto a caliper measurement (e.g., the calibration determines a scalingfactor for converting a image distance or number of pixels between tothe caliper measurement of the sheet). According to additional and/oralternative aspects, the first image capture device 116 and the secondimage capture device 120 can be configured according to predeterminedconditions (i.e., location, orientation, distance from the sheets on thetransport mechanism 114, etc.) to facilitate translation of thedetermined image distance to the caliper measurement.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, the controller 124 canbe configured to compare the determined caliper measurements to apredetermined tolerance range (and/or a predetermined threshold value).The controller 124 can be further configured to generate an error signalbased on the comparison. For example, the controller 124 can beconfigured to generate an error signal if any caliper measurement isoutside of the tolerance range. As another example, the controller 124can be configured to generate an error signal if more than a thresholdnumber of caliper measurements are outside of the tolerance range. Asyet another example, the controller 124 can be configured to generate anerror signal if more than a threshold percentage of the calipermeasurements are outside of the tolerance range. The controller 124 canthus be configured to determine whether an error condition exists basedon the comparison of the determined caliper measurement(s) to errorchecking criteria. According to aspects of the present disclosure,process-impact is determined by the controller 124 by comparing thedetermined caliper measurements, e.g., determined from the images takenby the first image capture device, to a previously measured set ofsatisfactory caliper measurements.

According to some aspects, the error signal can include an indication asto whether the error condition is associated with a first image or asecond image. As such, the error signal can provide information as tothe nature of a problem with the system 100. For example, a calipermeasurement determined from a first image to be outside of the tolerancerange may indicate a problem with the sheets being fed into the system100 while a caliper measurement determined from a second image to beoutside of the tolerance range may indicate that the manufacturingprocess device 118 detrimentally impacted the sheets during processing.It is contemplated that, according to some aspects, the controller 124can be configured to compare caliper measurements from the first imagesto a first tolerance range and caliper measures from the second imagesto a second tolerance range. This may be useful for implementations inwhich it is expected and/or intended that the manufacturing processdevice 118 will impact the caliper of the sheets to a certain extent.

As the first image capture device 116 is located before themanufacturing process device 118 and the second image capture device 120is located after the manufacturing process device 118 along thetransport path, the controller 124 can be additionally and/oralternatively configured to quantify and evaluate the impact of themanufacturing process device 118 on the sheets by determining a changein the caliper measurements based on one or more of the first images andthe second images.

According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the controller 124can be configured to determine a change in caliper measurement based ona first image and a second image of the same sheet. For example, a firstcaliper measurement of a sheet can be determined from a first image, asecond caliper measurement of the same sheet can be determined from asecond image, and the change in caliper measurement can thus bedetermined by the difference between the first caliper measurement andthe second caliper measurement. In some implementations, the controller124 can be configured to control the first image capture device 116 andthe second image capture device 120 such that the first image and thesecond image are obtained at times at which it is known that the targetsheet is located within the respective fields of view of the first imagecapture device 116 and the second image capture device 120. In oneexample, the controller 124 can be configured to control image capturetiming based on known transport speeds of the transport mechanism 114and the distance between the first image capture device 116 and thesecond image capture device 120. In another example, sensors (not shown)may be employed to detect the presence and/or number of sheets passingthrough the field of views of the first image capture device 116 and thesecond image capture device 120.

According to additional and/or alternative aspects of the presentdisclosure, the controller 124 can be configured to determine the changein caliper measurement based on any first image and any second imageregardless of whether the first image and the second image are of thesame sheet. For example, a first caliper measurement of a first sheetcan be determined from a first image, a second caliper measurement of asecond sheet (which may be the same or different from the first sheet)can be determined from a second image, and the change in calipermeasurement can thus be determined by the difference between the firstcaliper measurement and the second caliper measurement. Whiledetermining a change in caliper measurement based on measurements forthe same sheet provides a more direct indication of the effect of amanufacturing process device 118 on the caliper of the sheet,determining a change in caliper measurement based on measurements fromany sheet (i.e., same or different sheet) can still provide aninformative and useful indication of the effect of the manufacturingprocess device 118 while minimizing system resource requirements neededto control the timing of the image capture devices 116, 120 and/or trackthe identity of the sheets transported through the system 100.

According to still additional and/or alternative aspects of the presentdisclosure, the controller 124 can be configured to determine an averagechange in caliper measurement based on caliper measurements derived froma plurality of first images and a plurality of second images. Forexample, the controller 124 can be configured to determine the change incaliper as the difference between an average caliper measurement forsheets shown in a plurality of first images and an average calipermeasurement for sheets shown in a plurality of second images. In someinstances, the plurality of first images and the plurality of secondimages can include images of the same plurality of sheets and, in otherinstances, the plurality of first image and the plurality of secondimages may not be images of the same sheets (i.e., at least one sheet isdifferent between the first images and the second images). The averagechange in caliper measurement can thus provide additional and/oralternative data for determining the impact of the manufacturing processdevice 118 on the caliper of the sheets transported through the system100.

The controller 124 can be configured to evaluate the determined changein caliper measurement(s) (or average thereof) to determine if an errorcondition exists. For example, the determined change in calipermeasurement(s) can be compared to a predetermined tolerance range orpredetermined threshold value(s) in a manner similar to that describedabove for evaluation of a caliper measurement with respect to atolerance range. Additionally, as described above, the controller 124can be further configured to generate an error signal based on suchcomparisons to the tolerance range(s) and/or threshold value(s).

According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a first image and asecond image can be obtained for each sheet transported through thesystem 100. This approach may allow for a comprehensive analysis of theeffects of the manufacturing process on all sheets transported throughthe system. Notably, such functionality has not previously been achievedas prior systems and methods for the manufacture of sheet materials canonly measure limited sample sizes due to the labor intensive process ofmanual measurement or the need to restrain the sheet material frommovement during measurement. According to alternative aspects of thepresent disclosure, a first image and a second image can be obtained forsome but not all of the sheets transported through the system. Whilesmall sample sizes may be utilized for analysis by the controller 124,the system 100 can be advantageously configured to process largeramounts of data than could previously be processed via prior systems andmethods for the manufacture of sheet material products.

According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the calipermeasurement(s) and/or the determined change in caliper measurement(s)(or averages thereof) can be stored as process-impact information in thememory 126. The process-impact information may be viewed by a user viathe user output device 130. In some non-limiting implementations, theprocess- impact information can be stored in the memory 126 withidentification information associated with the sheet(s) from which theprocess-information is derived. For example, the controller 124 can beconfigured to assign a unique identifier to each sheet imaged in thefirst images and the second images, which may be stored with theprocess-impact information in the memory 126.

Optionally, the controller 124 can be further configured to control theoperation of the manufacturing process device 118. For example, thecontroller 124 can be configured to transmit a control signal, whichwhen received, causes the manufacturing process device 118 to stop,start, and/or adjust a manufacturing process applied to the sheetstransported through the system 100. In some non-limitingimplementations, the control signals can be generated in response toinputs received from a user via the user input device 128. In additionaland/or alternative implementations, the control signals can beautomatically generated based on the controller 124 processing theprocess-impact information (e.g., based on comparisons to one or morepredetermined threshold values and/or tolerance ranges). In instances inwhich the controller 124 can adjust the manufacturing process applied bythe manufacturing process device 118, a feedback system can be formedwhereby the controller 124 can continuously or repeatedly monitor theprocess-impact information to make further adjustments until theprocess-impact information conforms to the desired manufacturingtolerance requirements or criteria.

It should be understood that the system 100 illustrated and describedfor FIG. 1 is intended to be exemplary and that the system 100 can bemodified to include additional components, fewer components, and/ormodified components. For example, while the exemplary system 100illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an input receptacle 112 and an outputreceptacle 122 that are configured to receive a plurality of sheets, theinput receptacle 112 and/or the output receptacle 122 can be configuredto receive only one sheet at a time for facilitating ingress and egressof the sheets for the system 100. Additionally, for example, while theexemplary system 100 includes two image capture devices 116, 120, it iscontemplated that the system 100 can include any number (i.e., one ormore) image capture devices 116, 120 according to alternative aspects ofthe present disclosure.

Caliper measurements taken by the image capture devices 116, 120 and CPU124 may be subject to a minimum resolution requirement. For at leastsome implementations, a particular point of interest is changes incaliper through a process, which can require determining a differencemeasurement between an initial caliper and a final caliper. Becausedifferences as small as one one-thousandth of an inch can indicatemeaningful process impact to the material, it is desirable, for example,that the minimum resolution requirement be at least approximately oneone-thousandth of an inch. Optionally, the minimum resolutionrequirement is an order of magnitude better than the significance levelfor the measurement itself, indicating an optimal resolution of onetenth of one-thousandth of an inch. This can help to to clearlydistinguish process changes as a corrugated sheet traverses, forexample, a flexo. While resolution between these levels can still becontributory, once resolution becomes less precise than the higher value(0.001″), the ability to identify meaningful impacts is severelyconstrained.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an exemplary flowchart for a method 200 ofprocessing a plurality of sheets (e.g., sheets of corrugated fiberboard,paper, paperboard, plastic, corrugated plastic, combinations thereof,and/or the like) is illustrated. At step 212, a plurality of sheets arereceived (e.g., in the input receptacle 112). At step 214, the sheetsare transported (e.g., via the transport mechanism 114), one at a time,past the first image capture device 116. At step 216, a first image ofone or more sheets is obtained by the first image capture device 116.After the first image is obtained at step 216, the sheets are processed,for example, by a manufacturing process device 118 at step 218. Asdescribed above, the manufacturing process device 118 can cause thesheets to change from a first state (e.g., unprinted, uncut, unscored,etc.) to a second state (e.g., printed, cut, scored, etc.). At step 220,after the sheets have been processed, the sheets are transported pastthe second image capture device 120. At step 220, a second image of oneor more sheets is obtained by the second image capture device 120. Atstep 224, the process-impact information is determined based on thefirst image(s) and/or the second image(s) obtained at steps 216 and 222.Optionally, at step 226, the process-impact information is compared toerror checking criteria (e.g., a predetermined threshold and/ortolerance range).

FIG. 3, described by way of example above, represents one algorithm thatcorresponds to at least some instructions executed by the controller 124in FIG. 1 to perform the above described functions associated with thedescribed concepts. It is also within the scope and spirit of thepresent concepts to omit steps, include additional steps, and/or modifythe order of steps presented above. For example, the process 200 canfurther include a step of generating an error signal in response to thecomparison at step 226.

As described above, the systems and methods of the present disclosurecan obtain a plurality of images of the sheets at two different pointsin a manufacturing process from which measurements and determinationscan be made as to the effect of the manufacturing process (or aspectsthereof) on the sheets while being transported through the system.According to some additional and/or alternative aspects of the presentdisclosure, more than two image capture devices can be employed in thesystem 100. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates an example sheet processingsystem 300 in which five image capture devices 316A-316E are employed.In the illustrated example, the system 300 includes a flexo folder gluerhaving an input receptacle 312 containing a stack of corrugated boardsheets, a transport mechanism 314, an impression roller 318A, scoringshafts 318B, slotting shafts 318C, a folding section 318D, an adhesivesection 318E, and an output receptacle 322. Additionally, as shown inFIG. 4, the system 300 includes a first image capture device 316A, asecond image capture device 316B, a third image capture device 316C, afourth image capture device 316D, and a fifth image capture device 316E.The image capture devices 316A-316E are configured to capture respectiveimages of one or more sheets of corrugated board at different pointsalong the transport path as described above. For example, the firstimage capture device 316A is configured to obtain an image of one ormore sheets as the sheet(s) are received from the input receptacle 312in the transport mechanism 314A, the second image capture device 316B isconfigured to obtain an image of one or more sheets as the sheet(s) arereceived in a feed section 314A, the third image capture device 316C isconfigured to obtain an image of one or more sheets after the sheet(s)have passed through feed rolls 314B, the fourth image capture device314D is configured to obtain an image of one or more sheets after thesheet(s) pass through the impression rolls 318A, the scoring shafts318B, and the slotting shafts 318C, and the fifth image capture device316E is configured to obtain an image of one or more sheet(s) as thesheet(s) are received in the output receptacle 322.

Accordingly, in the illustrated example, the impact of all manufacturingprocesses within the system 300 can be determined based on the imageobtained by the first image capture device 316A and the image obtainedby the fifth image capture device 316E; however, the images obtained bythe second image capture device 316B, the third image capture device316C, and/or the fourth image capture device 316D could additionallyand/or alternatively be utilized to determine the impact of a subset ofmanufacturing processes of the flex folder gluer. For example, theimpact of the feeder section 314A can be determined based on the imagesobtained by the second image capture device 316B and third image capturedevice 316C. As another example, the impact of the impression rolls318A, the scoring shafts 318B, and the slotting shafts 318C can bedetermined based on the images obtained by the third image capturedevice 316C and the fourth image capture device 316D. As yet anotherexample, the impact of the feed section 314A, the impression rolls 318A,the scoring shafts 318B, and the slotting shafts 318C can be determinedbased on the images obtained by the second image capture device 316B andthe fourth image capture device 316D.

It should be understood that the images obtained by the image capturedevices 316A-316E can be analyzed by a controller (e.g., the controller124) to determine caliper measurement(s) and/or change in calipermeasurements (i.e., process-impact information) and compare suchprocess-impact information to one or more threshold values and/ortolerance ranges (i.e., error checking criteria). It also should beunderstood that the number and locations of the image captured devicesillustrated in FIG. 4 is intended as one non-limiting example. Accordingto additional and/or alternative aspects, the system 300 can includemore or fewer image capture devices 316A-316E and the image capturedevices 316A-316E can be located at locations other than thoseillustrated in FIG. 4.

Advantageously, the systems and methods of the present disclosure canaccommodate high speed manufacturing processes such as those generallydesired for the manufacture of products from corrugated board sheets.The systems and methods of the present disclosure can capture andanalyze large quantities of data in real time. Because the images can becaptured and analyzed rapidly, the systems and methods of the presentdisclosure can provide a nearly continuous measurement of caliper. As aresult, hundreds or thousands of unique data points can be obtained perorder, providing real-time feedback to the equipment operators andvalidation statistics to the customer. For example, the systems andmethods of the present disclosure can alert the machine operators ifconditions have changed in their incoming stock and allow them to adjustthe manufacturing process devices 118 during the run to account for suchchanges. In some instances, the adjustments may mitigate wear and tearon the manufacturing process devices 118. In other instances, theadjustments can be made to minimize board damage from the processitself.

While the embodiments described above relate to systems and methods forprocessing previously formed sheet material, according to additionaland/or alternative aspects of the present disclosure, similar systemsand methods can also be configured to determine the impact ofmanufacturing processes during the production of the sheets. Forexample, FIG. 5 illustrates an example system 400 including a corrugatorfor producing the corrugated board sheets. As shown in FIG. 5, thecorrugator includes a plurality of unit processes or sections formanufacturing aspects of a plurality of corrugated board sheets. Thesystem 400 further includes a plurality of image capture devices 416A,416B, 416C, 416D located at various different points in the system 400.Similar to the systems 100, 300 and methods 200 described above, theimage capture devices 416A-416D of the system 400 can be configured toobtain images, which can be analyzed (e.g., by a controller) todetermine the impact of one or more manufacturing processes. Forexample, comparing the images obtained by the image capture device 416Band the image capture device 416A can provide a measure of the change inthe structure of a fluted singleface web before a second liner isapplied, and identify damage done on a bridge in transit. As anotherexample, the images from the image capture devices 416B and 416C can becompared to determine the impact of one or more hot plates. As yetanother example, the images from the image capture devices 416C and 416Dcan be compared to determine the impact of the slitting, scoring, andcutting processes. As still another example, a caliper measurement canbe determined from any one of the image capture devices 416A-416D todetermine an impact of a manufacturing process. It should be understoodthat the images obtained by the image capture devices 416A-416D can beanalyzed by a controller (e.g., the controller 124) to determine calipermeasurement(s) and/or change in caliper measurements (i.e.,process-impact information) and compare such process-impact informationto one or more threshold values and/or tolerance ranges (i.e., errorchecking criteria).

The present disclosure includes systems having controllers for providingvarious functionality to process information and determine results basedon inputs. Generally, the controllers may be implemented as acombination of hardware and software elements. The hardware aspects mayinclude combinations of operatively coupled hardware componentsincluding microprocessors, logical circuitry, communication/networkingports, digital filters, memory, or logical circuitry. The controller maybe adapted to perform operations specified by a computer-executablecode, which may be stored on a computer readable medium.

As described above, the controller 124 may be a programmable processingdevice, such as an external conventional computer or an on-board fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or digital signal processor (DSP), whichexecutes software, or stored instructions. In general, physicalprocessors and/or machines employed by embodiments of the presentdisclosure for any processing or evaluation may include one or morenetworked or non-networked general purpose computer systems,microprocessors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA's), digital signalprocessors (DSP's), micro-controllers, and the like, programmedaccording to the teachings of the exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure, as is appreciated by those skilled in the computer andsoftware arts. The physical processors and/or machines may be externallynetworked with the image capture device(s), or may be integrated toreside within the image capture device. Appropriate software can bereadily prepared by programmers of ordinary skill based on the teachingsof the exemplary embodiments, as is appreciated by those skilled in thesoftware art. In addition, the devices and subsystems of the exemplaryembodiments can be implemented by the preparation ofapplication-specific integrated circuits or by interconnecting anappropriate network of conventional component circuits, as isappreciated by those skilled in the electrical art(s). Thus, theexemplary embodiments are not limited to any specific combination ofhardware circuitry and/or software.

Stored on any one or on a combination of computer readable media, theexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may include software forcontrolling the devices and subsystems of the exemplary embodiments, fordriving the devices and subsystems of the exemplary embodiments, forenabling the devices and subsystems of the exemplary embodiments tointeract with a human user, and the like. Such software can include, butis not limited to, device drivers, firmware, operating systems,development tools, applications software, and the like. Such computerreadable media further can include the computer program product of anembodiment of the present disclosure for performing all or a portion (ifprocessing is distributed) of the processing performed inimplementations. Computer code devices of the exemplary embodiments ofthe present disclosure can include any suitable interpretable orexecutable code mechanism, including but not limited to scripts,interpretable programs, dynamic link libraries (DLLs), Java classes andapplets, complete executable programs, and the like. Moreover, parts ofthe processing of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosurecan be distributed for better performance, reliability, cost, and thelike.

Common forms of computer-readable media may include, for example, afloppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any othersuitable magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, CDRW, DVD, any other suitableoptical medium, punch cards, paper tape, optical mark sheets, any othersuitable physical medium with patterns of holes or other opticallyrecognizable indicia, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any othersuitable memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave or any other suitablemedium from which a computer can read.

While the present invention has been described with reference to one ormore particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognizethat many changes may be made thereto without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention. Each of these embodiments andobvious variations thereof is contemplated as falling within the spiritand scope of the claimed invention, which is set forth in the followingclaims.

1. A system for processing a plurality of sheets of material, the systemcomprising: an input configured to receive the plurality of sheets ofmaterial; an output; a transport mechanism configured to transport theplurality of sheets of material, one sheet at a time, from the inputalong a transport path to the output; a manufacturing process devicedisposed along the transport path and configured to change each of theplurality of sheets of material from a first state to a second state; afirst image capture device configured to obtain one or more firstimages, each of the one or more first images being of at least one ofthe plurality of sheets of material; and at least one processorcommunicatively coupled to the first image capture device, the at leastone processor being configured to determine process-impact informationbased on the one or more first images, the process-impact informationincluding at least a caliper measurement of each of the at least one ofthe plurality of sheets of material.
 2. The system of claim 1, whereinthe at least one processor is further configured to determine whether anerror condition exists based on the process-impact information and oneor more error checking criteria.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein thefirst image capture device is positioned adjacent the transportmechanism along the transport path and oriented such that each of thefirst images includes a lateral side of each of the at least one of theplurality of sheets of material.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein thefirst image capture device is positioned adjacent the transportmechanism generally orthogonal to the transport path. 5-6. (canceled) 7.The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sheets of materialcomprises corrugated fiberboard.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein theprocess-impact information is determined by the at least one processor,at least in part, by comparing the one or more first images of the firstimage capture device with a previously measured set of satisfactorycaliper measurements. 9-14. (canceled)
 15. A method for processing sheetmaterial, the method comprising: receiving a plurality of sheets ofmaterial; transporting, via a transport mechanism, the plurality ofsheets of material, one sheet at a time, past a first image capturedevice; obtaining, via the first image capture device, one or more firstimages of a first set of one or more of the plurality of sheets ofmaterial while the plurality of sheets of material is transported pastthe first image capture device one sheet at a time; and determining, viaat least one processor, a first caliper measurement of the first set ofone or more of the plurality of sheets of material based on the one ormore first images of the first set. 16-20. (canceled)
 21. The method ofclaim 15, further including determining whether an error conditionexists based on the process-impact information and one or more errorchecking criteria.
 22. The method of claim 15, wherein the first imagecapture device is positioned adjacent the transport mechanism along thetransport path and oriented such that each of the first images includesa lateral side of each of the plurality of sheets of material.
 23. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the first image capture device is positionedadjacent the transport mechanism generally orthogonal to the transportpath.
 24. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of sheets ofmaterial comprises corrugated fiberboard.
 25. The method of claim 15,further including determining process-impact information by the at leastone processor, at least in part, by comparing the one or more firstimages of the first image capture device with a previously measured setof satisfactory caliper measurements.